Bed Balls
by ardavenport
Summary: Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi get up in a strange bed with a strange and very large roommate whom Qui-Gon befriended and Obi-Wan has much trouble adjusting to. While on a trip of Jedi study, they become involved in a family affair.
1. Chapter 1

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 1 (((O)))o–**

Qui-Gon opened his eyes.

The ancient, high ceiling above was dimly illuminated with pale, orange light. He gazed up at the chipped tiles in an ancient mosiac of flowers and vines and random shapes, their scratched and faded colors dulled even more by the early morning gloom.

He inhaled the cool scents of the garden outside, the polish of the furniture in the guest room, the fibers of the bed clothes, the bedding itself. Each new planet touched the senses in unique ways and Master Qui-Gon Jinn used his waking time to note them.

He swallowed and wet his lips; the aftertaste of the previous evening's meal had gone stale overnight even though he'd cleaned his teeth and mouth before retiring. He lay on his back, under a plush blanket, in a Yurthaki bed bin. The squashy bedding balls yielded enough to his weight so that they were not quite lumpy, but still supported his body and head. They had retired early the night before, so he felt quite rested.

A breeze outside rustled the trees and bushes by their window and a large insect buzzed, bumping its body on the window screens. Qui-Gon closed his eyes and cleared his mind; his awareness of the Force, always a presence in the back of his mind, sharpened. Other persons, the staff, the other guests, stirred in the ancient, converted fort. This place had its own routine; it moved with the rhythm of the days, the people and machines slowly inhaling and exhaling the ever changing guests that came and went from the hostel. Touski was already up and moving about in the fresher.

He wore only his long nightshirt under the soft blanket; his body had formed it's own cocoon of warmth around him. He sensed his Padawan in the bed bin next to him, unmoving, but wakeful. Qui-Gon turned his head and opened his eyes.

Even in the low light, he could see that Obi-Wan was gone.

In his place was a long, low lump of the multi-hued bed balls that filled the bin that they had slept in. A flap of white blanket poked out from them.

Qui-Gon frowned. Obi-Wan had never slept in a Yurthaki bed bin before and Qui-Gon had told him that if he moved about too much in his sleep that he might get buried. Suppressing motion while sleeping was a minor Jedi discipline that hardly lessened one's rest and his nearly twenty-three year old Padawan had mastered it years ago. Qui-Gon lifted his head, sensing Obi-Wan's wakefulness.

Touski, their Yurthak roommate, exited the fresher.

Obi-Wan was hiding.

Qui-Gon had enough time to get his arms up out of the way before an enormous, four-fingered hand reached down into the bed bin. It felt about before identifying him and then the fingers, two pairs of opposing digits that were as thick as his own thigh, encircled his chest and pulled him up.

"Ooooh, you [b]are[/b] a big one." Touski's wide lipless mouth grinned under her one, huge eye. Despite her protestations about how heavy he was, she still only used one of her two massive arms to lift him up over the edge of the bed bin.

"Good morning, Touski," Qui-Gon said pleasantly as she set him down on his bare feet. Behind her, Obi-Wan popped up out of the bed bin with his blanket. Spherical bed balls scattered out after him. Touski didn't notice. She was a huge being, over three meters tall with dark, mottled skin; her normal, healthy purple hues and her emerald green eye looked gray in the gloom. The slowly increasing dawn light was just enough for the Jedi to see by, but it was more than enough for the Yurthak's sensitive eye. She wore a long, loose, sleeveless gown, as big as a tent, over her huge, neckless body.

"You are rested then, I see, for your pilgrimage, today?" she asked in her lilting, feminine voice. She released him, but her great hand remained on his side.

Qui-Gon didn't think of this trip as a pilgrimage, but it was not too inaccurate a term. He had brought Obi-Wan to further his training amidst the ruins of a Jedi Outpost, many thousands of years old and a long walk up into the hills over the hostel.

"I am," he nodded his head. "As is my apprentice." He nodded toward Obi-Wan who was clearly hoping to be ignored by the intrusive Yurthak. The great eye turned toward his Padawan.

"Oh!" she cried out before hustling toward Obi-Wan, who lifted his arms just in time before her long arm reached out and caught him about the middle. Touski held him up off the ground as she turned her body to either side, her eye surveying the mess at their feet. Qui-Gon smiled.

It was terribly careless and sloppy to dump out one's bed balls when getting up in the morning.

They had rolled just about everywhere, multi-colored, Human-fist-sized spheres on the floor, under the tables, next to the bed bins, lined up along the walls.

"Oh, stay right there. I don't want you to trip," she told him. While she held Obi-Wan up away from the floor with one arm, she began gathering up the stray bed balls with her free hand. Her huge, meaty fingers were remarkably dexterous, their smooth ends concealed sets of muscles that let her corral the wayward spheres and scoop them up into the pocket of her palm. All the while, she held Obi-Wan up as if shards of jagged silicate had been strewn about, not soft, squishy, round bedding. Obi-Wan had an expression on his face like a wet, long-haired cave-cat and his bare legs dangled from her huge fist; his nightshirt was scrunched up on his torso.

While Touski retrieved the bed balls, Qui-Gon activated the room's overhead lights and illuminated the carefully designed, primitive decor of their room. He peacefully ignored Obi-Wan's glare toward him.

Qui-Gon had befriended the lonely Yurthak on the transport on their way to this world. Touski's traveling companion had backed out at the last minute, leaving her to handle the family business trip alone in a galaxy where everything was too small for her. She'd been quartered in the cargo hold, since the transport didn't have any cabins big enough for her. Qui-Gon found that she had a very sweet and generous nature and thought it was cruel of the ship's crew to isolate her for their own convenience and he had spoken to them about it. After this first kindness from Qui-Gon, she had promptly attached herself to them. Obi-Wan had not been pleased.

His Padawan had been horrified when Qui-Gon had accepted her invitation to stay with her after the hostel staff 'lost' their own room arrangements. Qui-Gon was fairly sure that the hostel had let their room out to higher paying (or bribing) tenants. He might have influenced the manager to remedy their 'mistake' (Obi-Wan had certainly been eager to), but it was far simpler to accept Touski's offer rather than displace the other guests from their ill-gotten room.

Touski had collected all the bed balls in one hand and took them to a wall-mounted receptacle hanging high up over the table between the two bed bins.

"There. All cleaned up," Touski assured both of them. "I'll make sure that they're cleaned while you're out today, before they get put back in your bin." She set Obi-Wan down. Her club-like, but velvety fingers gave him a pat on his head.

"He is a young one, is he not?" she asked Qui-Gon.

"Yes he is," Qui-Gon replied. "Thank you for your assistance." He glanced sternly at his Padawan.

"Yes, thank-you." Obi-Wan spoke clearly, but his eyes were stricken. Their days would be spent alone together among the ruins in the hills, but they would return in the evenings to gigantic hugs, being picked up in the morning and put to bed at night.

Touski looked down at Obi-Wan, then her body swung around so her great, green eye, both sad and yearning, rested on Qui-Gon. She scooped up Obi-Wan and then two steps later had Qui-Gon, too. Despite Obi-Wan's misgivings, Qui-Gon had found that Touski knew her own strength very well and had never once applied too much pressure in an embrace.

"I am so very glad we met, Qui-Gon Jinn," she declared as she clasped them both to her enormous body. Qui-Gon's toes just barely touched the floor and his shorter Padawan was held up off the ground again. "It will be so nice for me to look forward to our evenings together while I settle this awful custody business. We shall all be three bed balls together." Obi-Wan's eyes widened, his face pressed up against the crinkled white fabric of Touski's gown, but Qui-Gon knew that this was just a Yurthak euphemism. Besides, it was physically impossible for all three of them to fit into the same bed bin together. At least, not comfortably.

Finally, reluctantly, she let them down and the Jedi went to the fresher to start their own morning routines. Touski soon left to go find some breakfast on her own, but she promised to see them again before they set out for the day.

They were both dressed and Qui-Gon was tying his hair back when Obi-Wan bent down and came up with one last bed ball that had rolled all the way into the fresher and been missed. He squeezed the soft, purple sphere; it deformed, then resumed its shape as soon as he released the pressure. Finishing with his hair, Qui-Gon smiled down at it. He took it from Obi-Wan's hand.

"You do not wish to be a bed ball, my young Padawan," Qui-Gon stated. Now Obi-Wan looked embarrassed about his earlier discomfort, and Qui-Gon sensed that as disconcerting as their enthusiastic Yurthak companion was, his Padawan cared about her feelings and did not wish to be rude to her.

"No, Master. Touski is...too affectionate for me. And I don't like being picked up," he admitted.

"Ah," Qui-Gon nodded his understanding. He held up the purple bed ball. He drew gentle energy from the Force, to his hand. Obi-Wan's eyes were drawn to the simple sphere. From the fresher door, Qui-Gon tossed the bed ball up into the air. It sailed freely across the high-ceilinged room and landed with its mates in the wall receptacle. He laid his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"Perhaps as we visit the Jedi ruins here, you shall also learn to be a bed ball."

–**o(((O))) End Part 1 (((O)))o–**


	2. Chapter 2

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 2 (((O)))o–**

Obi-Wan climbed up the rocky path. Sometimes he needed to use his hands for balance when it became very steep. His Master had kept a steady pace since they'd begun climbing Tilthny Hill, at sunrise. It was now mid-morning and they had almost reached their objective near the summit.

A rented speeder or speeder bike would have gotten them to the Outpost much more quickly, but Qui-Gon had said that there was value to climbing up to it on foot. Obi-Wan cleared his thoughts of any cluttering thoughts of their trip, or their accommodations, or their roommate, leaving his mind open to all his senses and the Force, to his feelings, to any little intuition for where he should look, or what Qui-Gon wanted him to see.

At first, he'd only noted the fresh air, the clear, blue sky above, the green and orange vegetation that became shorter and hardier as they climbed higher. But halfway up, he suddenly saw a pattern in the random jumble of rocks so vivid that he wondered why had hadn't seen it before. The jumbled path had once been paved with the natural rocks, arranged into steps up the hill. The Jedi Outpost had been abandoned 8,000 years ago; age and weather had reclaimed the path, but the subtle sense of the Force still remained in the living plants, through the hill and the rocks they grew on.

Some places were strong with the Force, like cosmic memory. The Jedi Temple on Coruscant, with it's constant Jedi presence for thousands of years, resonated with the Force. A Jedi could spend a lifetime just exploring the subtleties of that one place, but real awareness came also from studies outside the Temple. If one lived only in one place, in the thick of the Force, one could not appreciate the whole of it in the galaxy. Even the youngest initiates left the Temple, led by their Creche Masters for little 'missions' to other parts of Coruscant, just so they could feel the difference.

To Obi-Wan's right and slightly above, was Qui-Gon's boot, under the hem of his dark brown robe that was the same color as the soil that was thickly overgrown with short, leafy grasses, occasionally dotted with small pink and white flowers. Qui-Gon had reached a stone wall that rose high over his head. He stepped to his right, over a gap in the rocks, his boots scraping on the uneven stones. Obi-Wan climbed up after him.

They now stood on a recognizable pathway, an ancient wall of boulder-sized natural stones on their left. They followed the path and wall to the remains of an archway. Obi-Wan walked through it behind his Master into the shell of a circular courtyard full of grasses and knee-high, stubbly bushes.

Qui-Gon glided upward, onto a rock base near the middle of the courtyard. A breeze billowed his dark, brown robe behind him.

"–Ah–oo–oo–ee."

"What?" Obi-Wan asked, confused.

"What do you see, Obi-Wan?"

Qui-Gon's back was to him, his tall form framed by the sky, heavy with gray clouds. The wind picked up the strands of his Master's long hair, blowing them all around his head. Obi-Wan looked about him. Parts of the ancient walls rose overhead. Other parts were tumbles of stones that he could easily climb over. There were a few dingy-bronze pillars lying on their sides and some broken pieces with right-angle shapes, but not enough remained to immediately tell what they had once been.

"Um, the Outpost," he answered uncertainly.

He saw Qui-Gon's head move from side to side. No.

"What do you hear, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan listened carefully, determined to answer correctly this time. There had been the occasional buzzing insects and the caws of some animals in the distance, and the sounds that they had made, walking. But now he couldn't hear any of it, the wind was getting so loud. It tugged at his braid and blew his own robe back.

The wind? he wondered. Was that it?

Obi-Wan was sure that this test could not be that easy. He looked deeper. Into himself.

"My heart," he said. "I hear my heart."

Again, he saw the back of Qui-Gon's head move from side to side. No. Obi-Wan hung his head. What was he doing wrong?

"What do you _feel_, Obi-Wan?"

Panic. He couldn't answer that.

"I.." he began, but the wind whipped the sound away. It roared in his ears and blew Qui-Gon's robe to the side. His Master's head was a frenzy of blowing hair.

Qui-Gon slowly turned toward him.

Lightning crackled from the figure above him, crossing over the ground to catch him in the chest. It lifted him up and back and he came back down hard.

The impact jolted Obi-Wan out of the vision. He sat on the ground, panting and trembling.

The sky was clear and blue overhead. The wind was gone as if turned off by switch.

Qui-Gon stood before him. He knelt, going to his knees, down to Obi-Wan's level in one fluid motion. His dark blue eyes were kind with concern.

"What did you see, Obi-Wan?"

–**o(((O)))oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo(((O)))o–**

"Visions are unreliable, unpredictable, full of random information, intuitions, feelings, symbolisms and imaginings," Qui-Gon instructed. Obi-Wan sat on a rock outcropping while his Master paced around him. They had moved up to a higher spot on the hill that overlooked the crumbling Outpost.

"Visions received during dreams are even worse," Qui-Gon continued, his tone quite annoyed by the topic he described. "Along with all the problems of waking visions, dreams also contain all the irrationality of the sleeping mind as well." Qui-Gon stopped before his apprentice.

"And yet, they are a part of a Jedi Knight's life," he concluded. The blue sky framed his head. The parkland that they had ascended stretched out in greens and oranges below their little clearing on the hill. Qui-Gon looked down at his Padawan, who gave him his full attention. "They must be contemplated warily. Your focus forms your reality, but the vision has it's own focus. They must be contemplated only with the passive, quiet, and focused mind." Qui-Gon again began his slow pacing around the rock that Obi-Wan sat on.

"What do you perceive from your vision, my young Padawan?"

Obi-Wan lowered his head. He didn't think about what he had experienced; Qui-Gon had already told him not to do that. He simply let it re-play in his mind. "I was more concerned with having the right answer than I was with learning," he admitted. "They are not the same. There may not be a right answer."

Qui-Gon Jinn's posture subtly changed. He became less the instructor and more the comrade. "I would say so as well," he agreed quietly. He picked his own, smaller rock outcropping and sat down, facing Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan had told his Master every detail of his vision, the lightning, the wind, the questions. He had left nothing out. Qui-Gon had nodded without comment, and then had led them up to the higher ground. Below, they could see most of the ruins. The main entryway, where Obi-Wan had experienced his vision was the largest of the rooms, with the tallest remaining wall structures. There were several other, smaller, sections, and an entry down into some below ground passages, but Qui-Gon had warned against going into them. When Obi-Wan had inquired about what was down there, his Master had responded cryptically with, 'Nothing more than what we have up here.'

"It is always risky to court visions, Obi-Wan. No matter how ordinary the apparent message seems to be. Even just the simple act of interpretation can completely change their meaning and is foolish at best." Qui-Gon leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Because any action can change their meaning," Obi-Wan added. Qui-Gon nodded. Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. He understood what his Master told him. He had heard much the same thing from other Masters and in his studies as a Padawan, but an old question still bothered him.

"Master, if visions are so perilous, why do Jedi still act on them? And why do Jedi use them? Why did you use one...on me?"

Qui-Gon sighed. The ancient Outpost was a place strong with the Living Force, but Obi-Wan's vision had been as much a product of his Master's covert influence than it was of the energies of the universe.

"Because Jedi live perilous lives." He stood. "And it is time for you to learn that peril." Obi-Wan stood as well. He'd been nearly certain, once he had recovered from his vision, that this was the real purpose of their excursion to this world. The influence of visions was only taught to senior Padawans, nearing Knighthood.

Qui-Gon began to walk slowly down the winding path, back to the Outpost. Obi-Wan solemnly walked with him.

"You understand now, the real purpose of our walk here?" he began.

"Distraction?"

Qui-Gon nodded.

"I regret using an influence on you, without your knowledge, but visions rarely come when they are expected. If they did, they might be better understood." They re-entered the boundaries Outpost, passing short, stony rubble that indicated where thick, strong walls had once stood.

Obi-Wan frowned. "If visions are so unreliable, how can one learn about them?"

"By influencing meditation." Qui-Gon stopped near the stub of a wide, bronzite pillar and turned to Obi-Wan. "The things that a Jedi sees through the Force though ordinary meditation are nearly visions. The past. The future. Events that might be. Or might have been. But they are as different from visions as dreams are from knowledge and insight."

Obi-Wan's frown deepened. "Influencing meditation? I don't understand." For his entire life, Obi-Wan had learned that meditation began by clearing the mind of all stray thoughts that would clutter the things perceived through the Force.

Qui-Gon smiled. "You must clear your mind. Feel the Force, in yourself, in your surroundings. Then you focus on a thought or an event that you wish to make happen, as if you were projecting it onto another person as for an influence. But you focus it inward, to yourself." Obi-Wan lowered his head, listening intently. The first part was perfectly clear; it was simple meditation. The second half was a mire of contradiction. Focus was always projected outward, the Force connecting to the object of the influence. Where did it flow to if it turned inward?

Qui-Gon seemed to understand his confusion. He laid a hand on his shoulder. "I will guide you." He pointed at the ruins around them. "It works best in places that are strong with the Force, certain parts of the Temple, this Outpost, many other places, on many other worlds." Qui-Gon's eyelids lowered as he spoke, as if he were seeing something other than the Outpost. "You project it outward, to influence a vision to another person." His eyes opened again, dark blue and intense. "But we will begin with only with the self influence first.

"Is that how you control the vision?"

Qui-Gon shook his head slowly. "You cannot control the vision. You can only control yourself." He gestured for them to sit. They faced each other, on the ground among the rocks and flowering weeds and grasses.

"You will choose an event, something small to begin with, that you expect or wish to happen."

Obi-Wan's mind went blank. What to start with? He looked to Qui-Gon.

"Master, what were you thinking of, when you influenced me?"

Qui-Gon sighed. "I was hoping that you might find dinner tonight pleasant, should we be fortunate enough to dine with Touski."

Obi-Wan stared back. He could not imagine how that had any connection at all to the vision that he had experienced. Yurthaks were filter feeders. Touski sucked in huge quantities of water, laden with algae, single- and multi-celled animals, while talking and gurgling at the same time. Her breath during a meal was truly overwhelming.

Qui-Gon almost chuckled, smiling back at his obvious confusion. "I believe I said that visions were unreliable, though, the result is often closer to what is expected, if several Jedi work together. But training is only allowed to full Jedi Knights. This is only the begining." Obi-Wan nodded. If the actual vision could be so far afield from the original intention, then it really didn't matter what he chose. He glanced upward, supposing that he could safely expect the sun to be higher in the sky by noon. He opened his mouth, but Qui-Gon raised a hand for silence.

"I do not need to know what it is. You will need to call it to your mind on your own. Now, clear your mind."

Obi-Wan straightened and closed his eyes. His thoughts fell away, evaporating into the space around him. His perceptions of his surroundings through the Force clarified, in harmony with his other senses and uncluttered by random desires or the petty concerns of living.

He envisioned the whole Outpost, the air above and deep into the ground below where some places nearly glowed with the strength of the Force. He saw some that were bright, others dark and murky, but it was all the Living Force, which flowed strongest in his Master before him as they sat together, surrounded by crumbling plasti-stone and stray plants.

A thought formed, not his own, but half in his own voice.

_Focus on a thought or an event that you wish to make happen, as if you were projecting it onto another person as for an influence. Focus it inward, to yourself._

Obi-Wan momentarily didn't comprehend what it meant, but his perceptions moved toward the sky where the local star climbed higher. The Force wavered around him, agitated by his expectations of noon with the sun high in a blue sky, the life in the parkland around the Outpost absorbing the warmth and energy from above.

_Focus inward._

Pressure formed around him, as if the air had thickened. Obi-Wan imagined the sun and sky as part of himself and the world rapidly shrank. The pressure increased. The Force rushed in toward him, first like a wind, then a torrent. Then a vortex.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes.

The Outpost was still there, in the wavering light. Qui-Gon had vanished, along with the sun. And the sky was orange.

The clouds above parted with a rumble of thunder.

"What did you see, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon's voice asked from above.

–**o(((O))) End Part 2 (((O)))o–**


	3. Chapter 3

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 3 (((O)))o–**

When Touski saw her two Jedi enter the dining area, her mood improved immediately.

"Oooooh!" She raised her hand, her fingertips brushing the ceiling. Qui-Gon Jinn spotted her immediately and soon the dining hall's servitor droid led them up to her table. It was, of course, too low for her, but just right for them, sitting in small, rigid chairs. She sat comfortably on a floor cushion.

Qui-Gon Jinn gave the droid their order and it scurried off back down the ramp. Their table was on an upper level, where other tables had been pushed back to make enough for her floor cushion. They could see the other patrons of the hostel finishing up their meals. It was late in the evening and the dining hall was barely a quarter full.

Touski sucked more slowly on her dinner tube. The tank next to the table was still two thirds full, but she didn't want to finish before her guests even began their meals. It was better to eat more slowly anyway. She always sucked in her food too quickly when she was upset.

Qui-Gon Jinn told her the he and his student had walked all day around the Jedi Outpost in the local preserve and that the weather had been ideal. Then he asked how her day had been. Touski gulped down a huge, fragrant mouthful and pushed the tube to the side of her mouth.

"Oh, well," she began, "rather badly, really." She couldn't bring herself to lie about it. Nothing good ever came from that, especially for her poor cousin. The servitor droid returned with her Jedis' dinners, tiny specks of dry, colored food on little plates and cups of brown liquid. They both began eating, using delicate little instruments to cut up and deposit bits of food in their mouths. It was a fascinating ritual. Most humanoids rarely allowed themselves to touch their food with their fingers.

"The desk manager told me," Touski began, "that only Jedi and park rangers are allowed in the Togtiz Preserve. Otherwise, it's a completely closed nature reservoir for this part the planet." Qui-Gon Jinn affirmed this while Obi-Wan Kenobi silently ate and watched them. Touski could never guess what Obi-Wan Kenobi was thinking, but he always had excellent manners. "There is a holo tour available and I thought I might try that later, just to see what you two have been up to."

"I think you would enjoy that," Qui-Gon Jinn answered, nodding. "How is your cousin?"

The ends of Touski's mouth turned downward and she stopped herself from gulping again. She looked down at their table and the little containers of extra flavorings for her Jedis' food. Qui-Gon Jinn only smiled when he meant it and he only asked about things he cared about. He was so wonderful. Touski knew she would have to talk about it all when the coms went through to the family anyway.

"Yoloski is in the city med-center. For mental deterioration. I never, ever, _ever_ imagined that he was doing so badly. Someone should have been checking on him, but we stupidly believed what that so-called care-giver was telling us." Touski didn't even try to keep the anger out of her voice. Qui-Gon Jinn would understand.

"I had to call the police to have Yoloski taken away," she said. "He was raving and he was thin and his eye was all sunken in. He looked a lifetime older than he is. And the water at the farm was _filthy_." Touski mentally shuddered at the memory of the brown, crawling swamps that had once been beautiful, deep, blue-green pools, so thick with tasty slime that you could float on top of it. "That Galmy told us that they were still doing small, specialty harvests, but that was a complete lie. They couldn't possibly have farmed anything in that mess for years. And the house was practically falling down." A few bubbles formed around her dinner tube as she spoke and she hastily patted them away with her napkin.

"Then you will have to assume custody of your cousin's affairs," Qui-Gon Jinn stated. Touski had told him about the bad reports that they have received from her cousin's neighbors, but had never imagined that she would find her cousin in such a wretched state.

Qui-Gon Jinn laid his hand on the table before her, the same gesture he'd given her when he'd told her about speaking to that awful steward on the transport. Gratefully, Touski laid one finger over it; her touch-muscles caressed his tiny digits underneath. She immediately felt better for having told him what happened. Qui-Gon Jinn's eyes were like two deep blue specks, their intensity and compassion not diminished at all by their small size.

"I assume that you have dismissed Galmy," he prompted.

Touski lifted her finger, adjusted her dinner tube and took a long, slow drink.

"Oh, I paid him off and sent him packing. He said he'd sue, but I know all the better lawyers in this town. He doesn't have a case. The authorities might still arrest him for neglect of his duties, but I would really prefer to never hear anything about him again." Touski had seriously imagined drowning and squashing that evil little humanoid as she'd held him up to force him to look at the horror that he was responsible for. But the police had been there and they had needed her help with her cousin and Galmy wasn't worth the trouble. Touski had settled for throwing him, screaming, into the vilest, dankest pond available.

"I don't want to disturb you, but I'll be up very late comming the family about this whole mess." Qui-Gon Jinn assured her that this would be no trouble for them. Behind him, Obi-Wan Kenobi watched, his expression respectful and sad. Touski regretted making him sad.

"Well, I am very, very glad to hear that your day went much better than mine," she told them, moving on. "How is your dinner?" Qui-Gon Jinn sucked down a mouthful. She could just see the subtle motion of his neck as he swallowed.

"Very good, thank-you," he answered, gracefully accepting the change of topic. "And yours?"

"The yube and mobe amoebae are very good, but the poko algae....they use frozen," she told him in a low voice, leaning toward him. "Oh, it is very good frozen, but I can still tell." She sat back, nodding, sucking in more dinner, savoring the aftertaste, but still noting that annoying hint of staleness.

They talked about dinner and the hostel and the park and other easy topics while they finished their meals. Touski would have loved to have lingered longer with her Jedi, but after drinking a whole tank, she was just bursting to expel the excess fluid in the fresher, so she excused herself.

Hopefully, she thought as she waddled away, things would go better after she talked to everyone else about Yoloski.

–**o(((O)))oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo(((O)))o–**

Both Jedi awakened when Touski finally returned to their room. It was well past the middle of the night.

Obi-Wan sensed the waves of discord in their roommate; it was much worse than what he'd sensed from her at dinner. Apparently her communications with her family had not gone well. He knew Qui-Gon could sense it, but they both feigned sleep when Touski peeked down at them in their bed bin. She made a quick trip to the fresher before heaving herself into her own bed bin. The room grew quiet again.

Qui-Gon went back to sleep again, but Obi-Wan lay awake thinking.

Qui-Gon had said that he had done well that day, but could one ever say that visions ever went 'well'?

Obi-Wan had successfully induced his own visions, without Qui-Gon's guidance, on the fourth try. He had felt drained and spent after each one and they had taken long breaks between them, when they discussed what he had experienced.

Visions contained such nonsense, memories jumbled with fancy, like dreams. But in visions he could strongly feel the Force. In dreams the Force might only be a distant memory, if it was there at all. Through the Force, the vision had a substance, a reality that exceeded even the most vivid dream or nightmare.

He heartily agreed with Qui-Gon's warnings, but his mind was still drawn to the things in the visions, following an irresistible urge to pick them apart for meaning. Was the maze he got lost in an expression of insecurity? Why would Jedi Masters wear a blue robes? Would that ever happen? Or was it symbolic? Of what? Would he ever slide down the outer wall of the Jedi Temple? And what had been chasing him?

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He only saw a different shade of black from the dark ceiling he had been staring at. He breathed deeply, quieting his thoughts. He would speak more with Qui-Gon about them in the morning, but he needed to be rested to continue this training.

Obi-Wan soon fell asleep, but he dreamed of wearing blue boots.

–**o(((O)))oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo(((O)))o–**

Touski lay fitfully in her bed bin. She felt hardly rested when her chrono implant pinged, announcing morning. She flicked a finger to shut it off and pushed herself up out of her bin with her long arms. She might have chosen to sleep late, but it was probably best to visit the med-center early and she did not want to disappoint Qui-Gon Jinn.

Tugging her sleeping gown down around her, she padded into the fresher to relieve herself. Then she gave herself a quick body scrub all over and rinsed her mouth out with fresh water. She expelled the water into the basin and it drained away. Belching much more loudly than she intended, she futilely covered her mouth with her hand, hoping that she hadn't made too much noise.

The hostel had a decent pool and she really needed to reserve some time in it. She felt stale all over and a good plunge would be wonderfully relaxing. She needed that.

Her other cousins had yelled at each other after hearing her report about how bad Yoloski's condition was. It had been the most unproductive and fractious meeting, with nothing but ill will and recriminations. Ever with her refereeing, the only thing they had agreed to was that they wouldn't decide anything until they had a full report about Yoloski's health and his property.

Touski had been upset that Yoloski's siblings would not even consider looking into arranging transport back to their homeworld until they had more information. Nobody would commit to anything. Touski was heartily glad that she was not one of Yoloski's heirs. As soon as things were settled with poor Yoloski and his siblings stopped squabbling long enough to designate a custodian, she would divest herself of the whole problem.

She pulled her gown back into place and left the fresher to get her two Jedi up.

Obi-Wan Kenobi blinked back at her as she set him down. He was always so tense. She patted the fine, brown fuzz on his head.

"Good morning, Touski," he said.

"Oh good morning to you, too. I do hope your night was more restful than mine." She reached down for Qui-Gon Jinn as she spoke.

"Good morning, Touski," he greeted her with a smile. He was as bony as any other humanoid, but his body was as loose and relaxed as a water creature. She liked picking him up; he sat comfortably in her hand.

"Good morning, Qui-Gon Jinn. I hope I didn't disturb you in the fresher just now," she apologized for her belch.

"Not at all," he assured her, bowing his head. Jedi have such lovely manners, Touski thought as she watched them go to the fresher together. She dressed quickly in her green day-gown, the one that matched her eye. She collected her data disks and holos into her carrying bag and wished her Jedi a good day before leaving the room.

Touski's stomach gurgled as she walked down the corridor to the lift. Determined not to gain any weight on this trip, Touski resolved that in the future she would ask for smaller portions in the dining hall.

–**o(((O))) End Part 3 (((O)))o–**


	4. Chapter 4

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 4 (((O)))o–**

Master Qui-Gon Jinn opened one deep blue eye.

The bridge of Obi-Wan's nose crinkled with concentration. Qui-Gon sighed.

"You are trying too hard, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan guiltily opened his blue-gray eyes. A crinkle of disappointment remained on his otherwise smooth and youthful face.

"I'm sorry, Master. I feel...distracted."

"That is quite understandable, my young Padawan." After the previous day's successes, Obi-Wan had failed to produce any visions at all, either in himself, or projecting any to Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan had remarkable patience, when he applied himself, but Qui-Gon could sense the frustration creeping into his latest efforts.

It was afternoon. They sat together on a flat, cracked plasti-stone floor next to the remains of a vine-covered wall. The sky overhead was gray and gloomy with clouds.

"Visions do not behave by the ordinary rules that Jedi come to expect when using the Force." Qui-Gon extended his hand. A round pebble on ground lifted up and floated into his waiting palm. "The Force guides our actions as we use it." The small stone rose again. "But it contains many mysteries that cannot be comprehended. Or controlled."

Obi-Wan raised his hand and the pebble floated to him. He snatched the pebble out of the air, holding it tightly in his fist. Then his hand relaxed and opened. The pebble rose in the air again. Qui-Gon watched as his apprentice turned pebble over in a subtle exercise of control. Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan's thoughts calm, reassured that the Force was still with him in some way.

Qui-Gon smiled as he recalled his own first frustrations with visions. He had demanded of his own Master why Jedi needed to learn such things.

"Because they're there," had been Dooku's stern reply.

That had been the only response he could get from him. Unsatisfied, Qui-Gon had applied himself to studying visions in the Jedi Archives in the Temple, but after many days and nights of searching and respectfully seeking wisdom from several older Masters, Qui-Gon had learned that there really wasn't any better reason for visions than what Dooku had told him.

Visions were simply there in the Force. So, Jedi studied them. And possibly learned from them. Possibly not.

Obi-Wan plucked the pebble from the air with thumb and forefinger. He flicked it away. It bounced off the wall and ticked on the rocks before coming to rest in a patch of tall grass.

"We learn about visions because they are part of the Force. There is no other reason." Obi-Wan nodded, but he did not look happy about the lack of any results for the whole day. Qui-Gon wondered which was worse, when visions came with their hints of cruel self-revelation, or when they didn't, when their absence could be just as disturbing.

Qui-Gon placed his hands on his knees and stood.

"That is all for today," he announced.

Obi-Wan stood. He didn't speak, but Qui-Gon could see that he was relieved. They both bent to pick up their robes, lying in a lump of browns where they'd put them. They shook out the bits of leaves and dirt that inevitably got into the folds before putting them on to go.

**–o(((O)))oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo(((O)))o–**

Obi-Wan piloted the rented speeder bike into the covered parking area of the hostel. Qui-Gon sat in the passenger seat immediately behind him. It was a modest rental, painted dull gold, not too fast for a speeder bike, but sturdy and good for traveling over rough ground. The simple task of driving it had given Obi-Wan some welcome distraction from the day's failures.

He parked in a reserved space and Qui-Gon took their room ID chit from a pouch and flashed it before an attendant droid that flashed back a yellow affirmative to them. They exited the gray parking enclosure through an open, round door. Rough, woven mats muffled their footsteps in the corridors of the hostel. Lush, green and yellow plants decorated the bases of the pillars; displays of ancient, metal weapons decorated the walls between them. They passed by several rooms with gatherings of guests in them.

Qui-Gon stopped in the lobby as they crossed toward the stairs. He looked about. Obi-Wan followed his gaze around the spacious room, up toward the balconies and the plants hanging from the ceiling. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

"Hmm." Qui-Gon seemed to settle on a direction and headed toward an exit that led toward the hostel exercise grounds. Obi-Wan followed. After passing through several corridors, Qui-Gon led him to a wide, double door. The sign over them designated it as the entrance to the hostel fountains. A green-painted droid, that blended in remarkably well with the plants, informed them that the area had been reserved by a hostel guest. It was Touski.

"We are staying together," Qui-Gon told the droid, producing their room ID as confirmation. The droid let them pass. The double doors slid aside and closed behind them.

They entered a spacious courtyard of very wide paths that passed through yellow-flowered, orange plants. Taller green ones with purple and white trumpets grew among them. The area was dominated by as huge, pale plasti-stone hill of slanting, smooth curves. Qui-Gon went to it and began climbing. When they both reached the top, Obi-Wan saw that the hill was actually a bowl with a huge, round pool of blue water in the middle.

It was very nice, but Obi-Wan didn't see anything that looked like a fountain. There was no running water at all. Qui-Gon descended over the curves and bumps of plasti-stone to the edge of the water.

"Very cozy for a Yurthak, though it might be a bit small for a group," Qui-Gon commented as he looked all around. Then he turned and began climbing back up.

"I suggest you get out of the way, Obi-Wan," he said over his shoulder.

"Master? Where's Touski?" Obi-Wan asked, confused. Qui-Gon had reached the top of the bowl again; he raised his eyebrows and pointed upward. Obi-Wan looked.

There was Touski, high above them, purple against the early evening sky, on top of the roof of the hostel, on the end of a platform that extended over the center of the pool.

Suddenly realizing what was about to happen, Obi-Wan leaped up into the air with the Force, flipped over and landed, sure-footed, next to Qui-Gon just as Touski's massive bulk descended and hit the pool.

Even high up above the pool, they were still splattered by a few fat drops from the colossal splash, but the bowl caught the rest of the water, which harmlessly flowed back down the curves into the pool again. Touski popped up with a huge grin on her face. Big waves spread outward from her as she neatly turned over to float on her backside.

"Oh, that felt _sssoooooo gooooood_!" Touski warbled, her voice thick with pleasure. Her long arms were spread out, keeping her stable as her short legs paddled, her big feet easily propelling her. When she reached the edge of the pool, she just bounced off it with her head and then used one arm to push herself in another direction. She was naked for swimming, but her mottled purple body was as featureless as rest of her as far as Obi-Wan could tell, and he didn't know enough about Yurthak anatomy to know what to look for even if he cared to.

Qui-Gon folded his arms before him and smiled down at their traveling companion as she swam about. Even Obi-Wan was pleased to see her enjoying herself after hearing about the problems with her cousin. Touski was smothering and intrusive, but otherwise a pleasant person and Obi-Wan could almost comprehend why Qui-Gon liked her company.

"We were hoping that you could join us for dinner tonight," Qui-Gon shouted down to her when she'd settled down to simply floating in the pool. Obi-Wan mentally moaned to himself, accepting another meal punctuated with Touski's algae-scented exclamations.

"That would be wonderful," she replied, sighing up at them. She paddled to the edge of the pool and dragged herself up and out with her great, long arms. Then she shook herself dry. It was fascinating to watch. Her body didn't shake, but the muscles under her skin briskly flung the water away in a vibrating wave that went from her head down to her feet. Sighing, she walked up one of the ramp-like curves around the pool.

"Just let me get dressed, and I'll join you," she told them, disappearing over the top. They climbed down from the plasti-stone bowl. Touski came around to them, tucking the thin straps of her green dress into the creases over her arms.

"You look well," Qui-Gon said. "I trust your day went better?"

She stopped before them. Her whole body heaved with a great sigh and then turned from side to side.

"No. It was worse. Yoloski is dying. He wouldn't even survive the trip back to Yurth," she told them, her cheerful voice gone flat. Her whole posture instantly changed from carefree to care worn. Her great, green eye sadly looked down at the ground. Her long arms, normally tucked up next to her body, drooped, nearly touching the ground.

Qui-Gon closed his eyes and bowed his head to her. Respectfully Obi-Wan did the same.

"I am sorry for your loss," Qui-Gon replied.

"Thank-you." Touski rubbed at the base of her eye before slowly proceeding down the path. Obi-Wan expected to be seized in a hug at any moment, but nothing happened as they walked with her.

"Yoloski has a heart infection; it's too advanced to do anything about. The droids were amazed that Yoloski gave the police so much trouble yesterday, but he was always tough. They can only make him comfortable, but he hates the droids and I spent the whole morning finding nurses that he wouldn't try to attack. And who could handle him in case he did."

They exited and Touski released the reserve on the fountain courtyard with the attendant droid outside.

"Then I had to send an emergency com back to my cousins. I got Yumy in person and she'll have to tell all the others. They'd better stop fighting long enough to pick a proper custodian. If Yoloski dies before they sign the papers, most of his estate will go to taxes." Touski spoke of solicitors and the mass of local laws and authorities that she had been negotiating with. Yoloski's assets were apparently scattered over several financial institutions and she hadn't found them all.

Obi-Wan didn't really understand the details, but he listened with sympathy. Touski's tone was so weary that he could not help feeling sorry for her. Qui-Gon laid his hand on her arm as they walked to the dining room.

The serving droid escorted them up to their table. The dining area was only partially filled; it was a little early for dinner. They gave the droid their orders and it left them. Touski sighed. Qui-Gon sat solemnly. Obi-Wan looked about the dining hall. It was a huge, common room with dark green ceiling plants. The walls were unevenly colored in pale grays and browns with fragments of tiled patterns in places, very similar to the 'primitive' decor of the rest of the converted, ancient fort. All the furnishings were made of heavy, coarsely hewn, polished wood.

Something thumped.

Obi-Wan turned to see Touski pushing herself from the table to get up from her cushion. She went to stand between their chairs. Obi-Wan got his arms up out of the way as she picked both of them up out of their chairs to give them that long delayed hug that he had been dreading.

"I am so glad you are here. This would be so much harder, doing this alone." Her feminine voice wavered with emotion. Obi-Wan could only see part of Qui-Gon past the fleshy purple cheek he was pressed into.

He waited, but after a minute he wondered if he should say something. He wondered why Qui-Gon didn't say anything. He kept still, hoping that she would let him go on her own. He didn't want to hurt her feelings by demanding to be let down. Obi-Wan's feet weren't touching the floor, but since Touski was supporting his weight with her enormous hand, he wasn't uncomfortable. Her velvety skin was as soft as bedding and smelled faintly of the plants outside. He wondered if the pool water had been scented.

After another minute Touski made a little whimpering sound, but she didn't move. Obi-Wan wondered how strong she was. He sensed not a bit of strain in her. He closed his eyes. He had avoided looking too closely at Touski; she was simply one of the many odd, stray beings that his Master befriended at times. Now, he couldn't possibly not look at her. He sensed a great, walking reservoir of living energy; cheerful, bright and, at the moment, comforted by his mere presence.

"Are you feeling better now, Touski?" Qui-Gon finally asked.

"Yes," Touski replied. She held them away from her body; even Qui-Gon's long legs dangled over the floor.

"I am so sorry to bring so much sadness into your trip, Qui-Gon Jinn." she apologized.

"The sadness is amply mitigated by your company, Touski," Qui-Gon replied smoothly.

The ends of Touski's mouth twitched upward. Obi-Wan prepared for another hug.

"But I'm afraid you'll have to let us down now. Our food is arriving." Qui-Gon told her.

"Oh!" Surprised, Touski moved her whole body, taking them with her, to see the droid coming toward them through the tables and chairs in the lower dining area, with laden tray and a lifter with her dinner tank following behind it. Touski gently set them down. "I'm so sorry." Obi-Wan glimpsed a few curious patrons looking away, but Qui-Gon, unaffected by the indignity of being cradled in a public place by a heart-sick Yurthak, appeared not to notice as he calmly straightened his dark brown robe. Obi-Wan could not believe that his Master was not aware that people had been watching them. They all resumed their seats.

"I didn't mean to go on like that," Touski told them.

"It is quite understandable," Qui-Gon said.

"We are sorry for your loss. I'm sure your cousin appreciates your help as well," Obi-Wan added.

"Thank-you, Obi-Wan Kenobi," she replied, picking up her napkin and dabbing at her eye. The droid arrived and set up Touski's tank. Qui-Gon lifted an eyebrow at him.

Touski mostly talked about what her cousin was like when he was younger. Wonderful swimmer, managed a beautiful farm, tried out politics once and failed to get elected to a local planning committee, hated children, but grudgingly tolerated (with his brother's help) the hordes of them that the family sent to his farm for holidays. Yoloski had shut down most of the farm after his brother had gone back to Yurth. The air at the table was soon thick with the odor of algae and water life.

At one point Qui-Gon offered to accompany her when she went to the med-center after dinner. Touski consider it but declined.

"I have to see a probate lawyer and an accountant and interview a caretaker for the farm. I really couldn't bear to drag you to all that, too." She slowly shook her head and then adjusted the hose protruding out of one corner of her mouth.

They finished their meal and while Touski went to the fresher, Obi-Wan went with Qui-Gon through the now crowded the tables and chairs of the dining area. They had promised to see Touski off on her evening errands.

They met her in the lobby and she seized them again, picking them up in another huge hug. Obi-Wan tested the Force. It touched his whole being, like Touski's body heat, but it was inside him. He felt it through Touski, to Qui-Gon. He sensed a flicker of recognition from his Master.

Then Touski set them down again, first Qui-Gon, then him, but she paused as her hand released him.

"Hmm." Touski's green eye looked carefully at him. "You feel more like Qui-Gon Jinn, now," she said before saying her farewells and going. Confused, Obi-Wan looked after the Yurthak as she exited, boarding a hired transport, waiting for her outside.

With a curious look on his face, Qui-Gon raised both eyebrows at him.

–**o(((O))) End Part 4 (((O)))o–**


	5. Chapter 5

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 5 (((O)))o–**

Qui-Gon opened his eyes.

He saw the ancient, high ceiling above him in a thin, colorless light, the tile mosaics in unidentifiable grays and blacks. It was overcast outside.

The air felt cool, but a pleasant contrast to the warmth under his blanket. He inhaled the scents of the garden below the room's window, the room's furnishings, the occupants...

Qui-Gon sat up, leaning on the edge of the bed bin to steady himself on the bedding balls. He could hardly see in the gloom, but there was clearly no huge mound in the other bed bin. He discerned no subtle bumping from the fresher, nor any other subliminal hints of the presence of another person nearby.

Touski was not in their room.

She had not gone to bed at all.

Obi-Wan stirred and sat up, carefully on the bed balls. They both climbed out of the bin and went to the fresher. Since it had to be spacious enough to accommodate Touski, there was easily enough room for them both to use the facilities and dress. Qui-Gon finished quickly, forcing Obi-Wan to hurry. He silently led the way down the stairs, his Padawan following. They exited at a below-ground level and went down an old, but well-lit corridor. They stopped at a transparisteel door, the glowing sign next to it read 'Com Center'. The smaller print under that listed the rates.

They went in. A thin-faced clerk in gray behind a high desk confirmed that Touski was engaged in a private conference-com, but refused to say anything more. Qui-Gon didn't need any more confirmation. Behind one large door, he could just hear the sounds of Touski's voice, edged with sharp emotion. Qui-Gon stood a moment, listening, his eyes half-closed. Touski's sweet tones had gone hard and loud, forceful and...angry. He exhaled and turned away, dismayed to know that Touski's family was making her so unhappy.

He left the com center. Obi-Wan silently followed behind him.

–**o(((O)))oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo(((O)))o–**

Obi-Wan looked down into the hole; the cracked stairs led to the underground ruins of the Outpost. Rocks and rough plants clustered about the opening. The sunlight barely brightened its shadowy depths.

"What's down there?" he asked.

"The past," Qui-Gon said, staring down into the hole as well. "All of them."

Obi-Wan turned to look at his Master, but Qui-Gon did not look up. Obi-Wan again followed his Master's gaze downward. He put his foot on the edge, then moved forward, his other foot going down onto the next, uneven step, then another. He reached out with one hand to steady himself on the side of the opening as he descended. He opened a side pouch on his belt and took out a small light. He carefully lowered his body, his foot reaching down past a gap in the stairs. He could see only darkness below him as he crossed the breach. A chill went through him, formed partly of cold, partly of emotion.

Near the bottom, he looked back up. Qui-Gon had followed, the large man's steps were light and sure, unlike his own tentative, slow ones, even over the damaged parts of the stairs. Qui-Gon's body blocked out more of the sky above; his dark brown robe looked black against the light.

Obi-Wan held the light up in his palm and pointed it forward. It cast cold blue-white illumination ahead. He shivered.

Above ground, the ruins of the Jedi Outpost had weathered over time. Nature had smoothed and carved the remains of violence into its own gentle curves, but below, decay had only twisted them. Smooth plastiform walls still bore the black scars of lightsaber strokes. Wrecked doors along the curving corridor revealed the corroded wreckage of explosions within. Obi-Wan's fingers traced a scorched gash.

He jerked his hand back. He breathed on his fingertips; the icy feeling had gone through them like fire.

A Sith. He knew that a Sith had made that mark.

That was how the Outpost had been destroyed.

Many, many thousands of years ago, there had been a Jedi Temple on Tilthny Hill. Until the local population had forced the Jedi to leave because of their constant conflict with the Sith. Dark or Light sides of the Force meant nothing to them, since both sides were fighting. The peace lasted for several centuries. Then the Sith returned, occupied the abandoned Temple and seized control of the rest of the planet. Refugees from the conquest had sought out the Jedi, who agreed to help. After the planet was reclaimed, the Temple was dismantled; anything of interest to the Jedi was removed; everything else was pulverized and ground down into the Hill that became part of the nature reservoir for the growing city nearly. The Outpost was erected on the remains, too small to interest the Sith into invasion and attack, but enough of a Jedi presence to discourage them. The Outpost had never been given a name; the Jedi's aid had been welcome, but their presence was only tolerated.

The peace had lasted nearly two hundred planetary years before the Sith massed and attacked again, destroying the Outpost, but the escaping Jedi had helped the populace repel the new invasion. Jedi and Sith were permanently barred from ever living on the planet again (even after the destruction of the Sith and the founding of the Republic for which the Jedi served as guardians), but the Jedi were allowed to visit, as guests only.

Eyes wide, Obi-Wan followed the curve of the corridor that continuously revealed more wreckage. He stepped over collapsed beams from the ceiling, chunks of wall, twisted plastisteel shapes, all of it whites and grays and blues as the light passed over them. The shadows were black as space. Something, somewhere was dripping. It echoed up and down the hall.

Holding his light up, Obi-Wan saw a dead end ahead. He slowly approached a closed, double door outlined with a curling pattern on the edges. He was sure that the door wasn't right. There had to be more, but there was no power to open it. Raising his hand, he drew the Force to him. Cold air touched his cheeks, numbing them. He saw his breath before him, bluish-white puffs. The door remained closed.

He turned and jumped back from the shape looming behind him. Qui-Gon mildly looked at him from under the hood of his robe, his arms folded before him, into the sleeves of his robe, but his shoulders were hunched, as if he were clutching himself for warmth. All the shadows framing his face were a deep blue, like his eyes. Obi-Wan looked back to door. The air around him smelled cold and fresh and sterile.

"What's behind it?" he asked.

"More," Qui-Gon answered.

Obi-Wan carefully took his lightsaber from his belt. The grip was smooth, the cold metal drawing any trace of heat from his hand. He activated the beam; it flicked on and hummed, low and ominous. The dripping sound got louder. Plunk, plunk, plunk. It got faster. Obi-Wan brought his blade up.

He stared at it.

The blade glowed bright and cold, a lifeless beam. Everything had gone dark around it's bluish glare. He dropped his light, so he could grasp the hilt of his saber with both hands. It was heavy. It resisted the motion as he turned it toward the door, but the tip of it easily sank into the smooth barrier before him.

Ice formed around the hole; white, it instantly condensed out of the air. He dragged on the saber hilt, trying to carve out a circle, but he felt as if a huge weight pushed back. The arc he cut streaked white and crackled, filling in with more ice. Obi-Wan had to stop to wrap the sleeves of his robe around his frozen hands. He pushed down, using his body weight; he hoped that would be easier, but it wasn't. His breath came in billowing white clouds around his face as he bent over his task.

A hand grasped his arm. He stared at the blue veins, the purple skin around the nails, the frostbitten skin. His gaze followed the hand, past the wrist, up the dark cloth covering the arm...

Ice had formed in Qui-Gon's beard; his eyebrows were pale with frost. Purple bruises had formed under his eyes. His expression was uncritical, but there was a question in it. His eyelids quivered, unable to blink away the sheen of ice covering his eyes.

Obi-Wan let go of his saber.

The blue light went out.

Obi-Wan stumbled forward, colliding into another body. They both fell. Obi-Wan's face hit a rough, broken wall. One hand and arm impacted with wall; the other struck rough fabric and a leg under it. The other body 'umphed' as it fell with the distinct sound of flesh colliding with unyielding surfaces.

He was in complete blackness.

Obi-Wan lay stunned for a moment before he began shivering. It was completely involuntary, almost like a seizure, as his body trembled from the reaction of the killing cold that he'd felt only a moment before. He heard movement next to him. The body that he had partially landed on, turned, righting itself; the hands felt along his torso, probing the folds of Obi-Wan's robe. Fingers brushed his face.

Qui-Gon pulled him up into a sitting position. Leaning against the wall, he drew Obi-Wan to him, one strong arm supported his shoulders. His other hand rubbed Obi-Wan's back to warm him.

His head rested on Qui-Gon's shoulder, under a fold of Qui-Gon's robe. He felt Qui-Gon's head rest on his own, then his Master's breath on his hair, as if his Master was trying to breath life back into him. The Force flowed down through him from that spot of warmth, down into his chest. His body ceased trembling. He breathed deeply, the glow of the Force spreading within him. He flexed his hands and feet, feeling the strength in them and not the sinister, life-freezing cold.

He listened carefully, but could not hear any dripping. Even that had been unreal. He only heard the murmur of fabric as Qui-Gon continued to rub his back. He sensed a deep patience from his Master. He could recover, where he was, as slowly as he wished. He cleared his mind, feeling inside himself and feeling his surroundings without thinking about them. They were underground, under the Outpost ruins. That was true. But the cold remained only as memory to him, still disturbing his thoughts.

He had a question to ask.

"Qui-Gon....did you....influence me again?"

Qui-Gon lifted his head. "I did," he answered immediately, his voice very close in the dark underground corridor. His hand stopped rubbing Obi-Wan's back. "Given our lack of success yesterday, I had thought that you would benefit from another demonstration.

"That was a mistake.

"I apologize, my Padawan. I failed to heed my own advice about visions." His grasp over Obi-Wan's shoulders tightened in a brief hug. Regret was a rare thing for Obi-Wan to sense in his Master. He pressed his forehead into Qui-Gon's shoulder. His breath, no longer dry and frigid, warmed the narrow spaces between him and Qui-Gon's tunic with each exhale.

Then he lifted his head and sat up. Qui-Gon's touch on his shoulders remained.

They were sitting in complete blackness.

"Um, I had a light," Obi-Wan said. He didn't know if he had actually taken the light out, or if that had been part of his vision as well, but he knew he'd put one in his belt pouch.

"I think you stepped on it."

"Oh."

Qui-Gon took his arm off his shoulders, but they were still touching. Qui-Gon's lightsaber flicked on, green fire lighting the room they were in. They helped each other up and after a moment orienting themselves to their surroundings and the Outpost they sensed above, Qui-Gon led the way out through a battered doorway.

The damage looked much worse than Obi-Wan recalled from his vision. The support structures around them looked intact, but whole sections of the walls were caved in or blasted away. They had to climb over some piles of debris.

After only a few turns, they saw reflected light from above. Qui-Gon extinguished his lightsber when they saw the stairs and a bit of blue sky above them.

Obi-Wan gratefully breathed in the fresh air, felt the sun on his face as he stepped onto the flat ground.

"Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon laid a hand on his arm. He turned and noticed the red smears on the front of Qui-Gon's tunic and tabards, half hidden by edge of his robe. Qui-Gon's hand touched the side of Obi-Wan's head. Obi-Wan stared at the red-smudged fingers that his Master presented to him. Qui-Gon had him sit on the stump of a pillar, and then sat next to him.

Qui-Gon looked intently at Obi-Wan's eyes and then the wound on his head. Obi-Wan steadily returned that gaze. He hadn't even realized that he'd been injured when he fell. He was sure he hadn't lost consciousness...but how could he be sure about anything connected with a vision? Qui-Gon dabbed at the injury with a medicinal pad from a packet from one of his belt pouches. It stung when Qui-Gon held the pad on his head to stop the bleeding. Obi-Wan kept still, but he couldn't help twitching. Qui-Gon didn't seem to notice.

"It's only a small cut," Qui-Gon noted. His fingertips brushed Obi-Wan's cheek. "And some bruises." Obi-Wan could now feel where the trickle of blood had run down his scalp, his neck, into his collar. Qui-Gon retrieved some water from their speeder bike. He had Obi-Wan drink and drank some himself, and then began cleaning off the blood.

"What did you see, Obi-Wan?" he asked as he worked on his apprentice's head and neck.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath before beginning. He remembered going down into the sub-levels of the Outpost, but he just wasn't sure when the vision had begun. Qui-Gon nodded and affirmed that this was common for visions. Obi-Wan described their journey down the corridor and how the Force seemed to have transformed into a cold that froze everything into lifeless, brittle ice.

Obi-Wan had experienced visions before this training. All Jedi had them, at least occasionally, but they had been fleeting glimpses compared to these arduous trials. Visions were often used for the Jedi Trials, the final test for a Padawan's ascension to knighthood and Obi-Wan could now well understand why.

Qui-Gon finished cleaning the area under his head wound and he put the used medicinal pads away in a disposal pouch that he had brought with the water. Obi-Wan watched as he sorted through what he felt to find the words for a question.

"Master, if I cannot even see the Force clearly in a vision, how can I tell where it begins and ends?" This was near to the most elementary questions about the Force. It was the kind of inquiry that could lead to hours of tedious lectures about the nature of reality, if a Padawan was unfortunate enough to ask the wrong Jedi Master, but Qui-Gon had never been long-winded about such topics.

Qui-Gon smiled. "You mean, is this real?" he touched Obi-Wan's shoulder, then the top of his head, his palm brushing the short, light brown hair. "Your focus determines your reality," he reminded. Then his expression turned more serious.

"I think of visions as living entities, with their own life and purpose that supercedes yours while it is with you. For that time, for the life of the vision, it is the vision's focus that forms reality. The vision begins when your focus becomes that of the vision, and it ends when you realize you have lost it and you regain it." Obi-Wan pressed his lips together and lowered his head. He was nearly sure that he had his own focus.

Qui-Gon patted his leg. "Shall we move on?" he suggested. Alarmed, Obi-Wan looked up again, but his Master held up a hand.

"No more visions for today," he said, barring that possibility. "But it is a pleasant day for a nice walk." He looked out at the scenery, toward the rest of the summit of Tilthny Hill. The area around the Outpost wasn't nearly as steep and strewn with boulders as the climb up to it. There were a few animal paths through the ankle-high, green and orange plants and the only rocky outcroppings were flat and easy to walk on. "And we can discuss focus and reality, and other such things that visions tend to put in doubt."

Obi-Wan grimaced, but the walk sounded good. The outside air smelled warm and alive.

He nodded and they stood up together.

–**o(((O))) End Part 5 (((O)))o–**


	6. Chapter 6

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 6 (((O)))o–**

Touski stared down at the other bed bin in her room. The blankets were neatly draped over the sides. Her Jedi were always tidy. They carried so little with them as well. They never left things lying around, were never messy.

She sighed, groaning to herself. She sank down on the floor cushion. The stewards would bring in a third bin in the morning. If they took out the second floor cushion, everything would just fit.

She had slept fitfully most of the day, having fought bitterly with her cousins over the com all night. The com bill would be truly astronomical; her threats about the costs (which she was charging to her cousins' accounts) had at least served as a crude bludgeon into getting them to agree to something, but she most regretted the even higher price that she would have to pay.

The door chimed. Touski leaped to her feet as it slid open. She stared down at her two Jedi.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when she saw the marks on Obi-Wan Kenobi's face. Purple was a very unhealthy coloring for a humanoid. She crouched, lowering herself to see it better.

"A minor accident, only, Touski. We've already had it treated at a med-clinic and it will be healed in a few days," Qui-Gon Jinn assured her.

"Oh, it's still not good." Touski plucked up Obi-Wan Kenobi; his delicate little hands grasped the edge of her fingers. She put him in the bed bin and he let go.

"Oh," she suddenly thought. "Maybe you should eat instead? Would that make you feel better." She peered down at Obi-Wan's tiny blue-gray eyes.

"We ate at a café when we came in," Qui-Gon Jinn said.

"Oh." Touski turned back to him. "Then...you won't want dinner."

Qui-Gon Jinn smiled back. "Later, I think, yes. It's still early." Then his two brows lowered. "You are concerned about something, Touski." She frowned and then turned herself to go sit on one of the floor cushions. Qui-Gon Jinn patiently followed and stood by her while she gathered her thoughts. His arms and body were concealed in the drape of dark brown fabric that hung over his slender body.

"My cousins, Ebiki and Olumski--they're married--are coming. They're getting a transport from Yurth today and they should arrive tomorrow." Qui-Gon Jinn's head moved, tilting a little bit. "They're not my nicest relations, but they are honest and competent enough to act as representatives for Yoloski's affairs. And the courts have declared them legitimate relations, so they can sign the custodial documents."

"I see," Qui-Gon Jinn replied politely.

"I'm so sorry," Touski apologized. "I tried to get another room, but that manager insists that the hostel is full and there isn't anything else available. I can't just get them some place by the spaceport. Rooms like that are never very nice for my species, and Ebiki and Olumski can be touchy and this whole business is upsetting for all of us anyway, and if they take the extra cushions out, they can put another bed bin in here–"

"Aaah," Qui-Gon Jinn's mouth opened. Now he understood. "You will need us to vacate," he finished, his voice perfectly pleasant and...understanding. Touski sadly looked back at him. Qui-Gon Jinn was so noble, but he was, after all, a Knight.

"I'm so sorry, but I couldn't find any other way." Touski clasped her hands together. "It's just so rude for me to throw you out like this..."

Qui-Gon Jinn raised his hands, the brown fabric hanging down from his arms.

"It is quite alright, Touski. You must see to the needs of your family, and Obi-Wan and I can stay in many more places than you. We could even camp at the Outpost, if we wished."

Touski sadly looked back. She extended a finger to lightly touch him. "Ooh, that's what that manager said. That Jedi were cheap and it wasn't his business where you stayed and that most times Jedi canceled their reservations to camp out there and you only stay here because the hostel is connected to the nature reservoir." She leaned toward him. "I think you should tell all the other Jedi that they should stay somewhere else and just take a taxi to the parkland. I don't think you'll ever get very good service here."

Qui-Gon Jinn laid his hand on her finger and a little spot of warmth formed under it as it always did.

"I shall certainly report the reservations that they lost, and your advice as well," he assured her.

Touski picked him up, drew him to her cushion and held him next to her cheek. His clothing was a little coarse and his heavy foot coverings were hard, but his body was warm from within and the long, fine strands on his head were smooth as shimmer-selk. She felt him lean into her. Touski sighed.

Reluctantly, she let go, one last finger-ripple stroked his back. He stepped back and excused himself to go make new room arrangements for them. "My Padawan will stay here to rest while I'm out." They both turned, and caught Obi-Wan Kenobi peeking at them from over the edge of the bed bin. Touski thought he looked so cute, like a curious infant unable to climb out, but eager to see everything. Qui-Gon Jinn pointed one tiny finger at him and he disappeared back into the bin.

Qui-Gon Jinn bowed and left. Touski looked at her own bed bin and thought about retiring, but day-sleeping was never restful for her and she did need to consider her Jedi. She got up and went to the other bed bin.

"Do you need anything?" she asked.

"Um, no. No thank-you."

She looked down at him. He wore his full set of day coverings and he lay stiff as a brown stalk on the colored balls under him. He hadn't taken his blankets down from the side of the bin. Touski smiled and reached in to get him.

"You don't need to lie down if you're not that tired, you know." His two eyes widened slightly as she set hm down. Touski smiled.

"Um, thank-you," he bowed to her. Touski chuckled. This was the first time that she and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been alone together. She leaned toward him.

"You don't like being hugged," she told him.

"Um..." he didn't deny her statement, but Yurthak and humanoid expressions were similar enough for Touski to see that he looked embarrassed. He didn't want to say anything rude. Obi-Wan Kenobi had lovely manners. She stood carefully apart from him.

"Oh, I have enough experience with smaller species to be aware of how awkward the size difference can be. I wouldn't dare touch any of those court officials on Coruscant." She, and the legal team for which she did research, had joked about what would happen if they ever scooped up any of those tough little lawyers for a proper greeting. There had been a recess in their case, as often happened, and her co-workers had changed all their tasks and schedules to allow her time to leave to settle things with Yoloski. She would give them all huge hugs when she got back.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to it," he apologized.

"Well, you've never been to Yurth. Qui-Gon Jinn said he spent nearly half a season there when he was younger." Obi-Wan Kenobi nodded in response. "And that he even went swimming in the Meereski Pools. Though he must have been pretty quick to dodge all those people jumping off the falls." A little smile started to form on Obi-Wan Kenobi's lips.

"And I must confess," Touski continued. "That Qui-Gon Jinn made a special point of saying that I should be as familiar with you as I was with him. Oh, he said something about broadening your experience with other species..." She lowered her voice as if to whisper, even though they were alone in the room. "...but I think he finds it amusing, too." She drew back. "But, oh please, don't say anything about it to him. He is your teacher, and sometimes it's better that they don't know how much their students really know."

Obi-Wan Kenobi smiled back. It was a happy grin, more like Qui-Gon Jinn's than she had seen before. He leaned toward her.

"It will be our secret."

–**o(((O)))oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo(((O)))o–**

Obi-Wan speared a fried dough ball with his eating stick, and he answered to Touski that the food at the hostel was very good. Touski pronounced the morning meal fresh this time. She added, with a trace of melancholy in her voice, that it was a mixture similar to what Yoloski's farm had grown.

A gust of air, laden with swampy smells, wafted past him as Qui-Gon bit off a cube of fruit from his own eating stick.

Obi-Wan asked Touski if she had holidayed at Yoloski's farm when she was young. She answered yes, but only a few times with her siblings. She had two sisters and a half-brother. One of her sisters had been in an accident, leaving her with un-repairable brain damage and Touski was her custodian. That, and her experience working with courts, was why her family had gone to her for help, even though she was only a distance cousin to Yoloski.

Touski again recounted how beautiful Yoloski's farm had once been and she hoped that it could be restored, but that would be up to her cousins. Obi-Wan politely said he would enjoy seeing it. Qui-Gon had seen several farms when he had stayed on Yurthak, when he was a much younger Jedi Knight. The emerald-green and bright blue lakes had been designed with carefully layered ecosystems that produced algae and tiny, well-bred water life. The farmers allowed tours for Yurthaks to bring their families to pavilions erected on the moss-covered islands in the farm waters. Small (for a Yurthak) children played in wading pools along the shores.

The smell from the farm produce had been so powerful that Qui-Gon had needed to wear a breather to go anywhere near those lakes, plus goggles to keep his eyes from watering. Another gust of Touski's breath passed over him as he bit into a crunchy roll. The savory filling was quite excellent. One Yurthak eating at the table was really a minor distraction when one had something much more extreme to compare it to.

The fare at the hostel was apparently as good for Yurthaks as it was for humanoids. Qui-Gon did not want to say anything, but he was quite certain that Touski had gained a little weight since they had arrived.

He continued to eat as Obi-Wan and Touski conversed. When he had returned to their room before, he detected a note of conspiracy between his Padawan and the Yurthak. Obviously they had been talking about him. Even without the Force and his bond with Obi-Wan, Touski's giggle and Obi-Wan's blush upon his return had been enough confirmation.

Qui-Gon's initial affront at walking into the middle about what was obviously a gossiping session had faded away in the light of Touski's natural good humor and the obvious change in Obi-Wan's attitude toward her. The disdain for Touski that he had sadly sensed in his Padawan had vanished.

Touski asked again if he was sure that they should camp at the Outpost for the night. Qui-Gon swallowed and wiped his mouth with his napkin. When he had gone out, he had confirmed that the weather would be good and he had bought a few extra supplies for their stay.

"It will be a good learning experience for my young apprentice," he stated, though privately, Qui-Gon wondered if it could compare to what Obi-Wan had learned while they had stayed at the hostel with Touski.

–**o(((O))) End Part 6 (((O)))o–**


	7. Chapter 7

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 7 (((O)))o–**

Obi-Wan focused his awareness inward.

The only thing in his mind was a picture of meeting Touski again, possibly for breakfast the next morning. It was not very imaginative, being nearly the same thing that Qui-Gon had used on him two days before, but Obi-Wan had learned that imagination was not required for influencing visions. He wondered if it might even be a detriment.

He felt the Force, gathered around him, connecting him to the ground, the Outpost, Qui-Gon sitting before him and the parkland beyond the Outpost on Tilthny Hill.

_Focus inward._ A voice, not quite his own, echoed through the Force. His thoughts closed in on their planned breakfast. Touski. The Force trembled like a heat wave around him. His focus shrank down on the dining hall in the hostel, plants overhead, tables, chairs, serving droids, their table overlooking the other patrons eating. And Qui-Gon. The Force rippled around his Master. Sitting next to him. At breakfast. The Force rushed in.

Obi-Wan felt something soft touch his head.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes.

A big, green eye peered down at him.

Obi-Wan leaped up from where he had been sitting on a clear patch of ground in Outpost. He actually heard himself cry out. Touski hastily withdrew her enormous hand.

"Touski!" he exclaimed.

Qui-Gon was gone.

Obi-Wan frantically looked about, then up at the purple-mottled Yurthak. She was wearing her green dress again.

"You're not supposed to be here," he told her. The local laws about non-Jedi trespassing on reservoir parklands were very strict.

"Oh, I know. It's not allowed. But I had to come for a proper good-bye. Once Ebiki and Olumski get here, I'll be escorting them around and Yoloski is getting worse and things might turn into a vigil and I'll be at the med-center, and I won't possibly be able to leave, and you've both been so kind to me, I couldn't just go away. I should have said more this morning, but I was so hoping to see you and Qui-Gon Jinn tomorrow that I didn't properly think about what would happen..."

She babbled on, wringing her huge, purple hands before her. Obi-Wan continued to look about him as if a parkland ranger were about to spring out from the Outpost ruins any moment with an arrest warrant. A big, round, three-meter tall Yurthak in a green dress was just too large for them not to notice on their scanners.

"Aaaaaaaaauuuugggghhhhh!!!"

A horrible bellow boomed up from the ground. Obi-Wan froze. Qui-Gon sprang up out of the ground behind Touski; he Force-leaped up from the below-ground entrance, his feet not even touching the broken stairs. He swung his lightsaber, blazing green in the daylight. His hair was unbound, a wild mane around his head, brown, slightly tinged with gray. Qui-Gon took a defensive stance.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!"

A huge brown eye appeared, filling the hole behind Qui-Gon. The ground around it bulged upward, plants and soil tearing. A huge body emerged, rocks and dirt falling away from it. A long, flabby arm swiped and Qui-Gon jumped back jabbing at it with the tip of his saber.

This new Yurthak was taller than Touski, but it's skin was patchy and peeling in places. It wore notthing and its purple body was spotted brown, the flesh hanging loosely on its body; its fingers twitched. It's eye was sunken and rimmed with crusty, yellow puss. Spittle flew from it's mouth as it yelled.

"I saw you! I saw you! You thieving little vermin! I saw you take that water!" Qui-Gon backed up a few paces.

"Oh, no!" Touski rushed toward the newcomer and Qui-Gon dove out of the way, rolling back up to his feet again, his lightsaber still ready. "Yoloski, you shouldn't be up!" Qui-Gon backed up further and extinguished his lightsaber as Touski seized her cousin's arms and tried to push him back. He bellowed again and while he clearly was not as strong as she was, he thrashed about, making it impossible for her to push on anything but his arms.

"I've got my foot under the mud! Drain the pond! Where you think I put it, but I know where YOURS is!" Yoloski raved. He stumbled to the side. Unable to push him back into the hole, Touski had to follow, struggling with his flailing arms all the way.

Obi-Wan stared at the two giants. Touski tried to push forward while still cringing from Yoloski's spittle.

A huge, four-fingered purple hand appeared around him. Obi-Wan leaped high into the air, flipped over to the side and landed on his feet. This new Yurthak stared at him with its pale, green eye. This one was a lighter shade of purple than Touski, with slightly bluish, mottled skin. Red and orange hung over its body, its huge, blunt feet sticking out under the hem.

"Hey," the Yurthak said, it's voice distinctly male. "What are you on about?" he demanded. He came at Obi-Wan, but the Jedi easily leaped away from the grasping hand. This time he flipped high over the Yurthak's head, landing behind him. Yurthaks were big, but they were not quick and this one took a moment to figure out it needed to turn around to find him again.

Qui-Gon leaped into the air, evading yet another Yurthak, this one with a brownish-green eye and coloring more like Touski's, medium purple with darker mottling. White, pleated material draped over the body. He landed on top of a thick, ruined wall section, just above the tops of the Yurthaks' heads. His dark brown robe fluttered down around him. Qui-Gon looked quite offended and glared down from his perch.

"Oh, bother. Come down from there," she demanded sternly in a harsh, feminine tone. Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows that he would do no such thing. Loose hair floated around his face in the light breeze.

The paler Yurthak was baring down on Obi-Wan again.

"Ebiki, Olumski!" Touski shouted. "Stop bothering those two and come over here and help me!" She had pinned Yoloski's wrists to the ground and he had toppled over, but was still struggling, his legs thrashing, the loose, wrinkled skin on them flopped back and forth. Touski's green dress was smudged and dirty and pushed up, exposing her featureless body.

Obi-Wan didn't know which one of them was Ebiki and which was Olumski, but they both froze.

"I don't really know anything about that, Touski. It's really out of my depth," the male excused himself.

"Yes, it's not our field at all. We're just going to collect these two." The female waved toward Obi-Wan, then up at Qui-Gon, who folded his arms before him and frowned his disapproval down at her.

"Uuunn-ugh! Stop bothering them, you sludgeheads and come help me!!" Touski yelled.

"Eeeeeeeeeuuuuuuu....aaaauuugggghhhh!!"

Yoloski made a horrible noise, as if he were in pain and abandoned. He went limp.

"Oh!" Touski released her grip. She laid her hands on the now writhing, sickly body of her cousin, trying to steady him, but the keening only got louder.

Then it stopped.

In the silence, they all heard one, half-drawn breath before Yoloski's body sank down onto the ground, the air going out of him. Touski fell forward, her hands pressing down into the now flaccid body.

Obi-Wan flinched. Through the Force, he could feel the life, in pain, but still struggling to continue on, falter and fade. It echoed through Qui-Gon as well.

"Oh, Yoloski..." Touski nearly wept. She pulled herself up to sit down on the ground next to the body.

Obi-Wan bowed his head.

"Well, at least we got those custody documents signed in time," the male Yurthak said in the middle of the silence.

Obi-wan looked up at him. Qui-Gon glared down from his wall, his bearded face disapproving.

"Oh, Yoloski." Touski moaned. "That really _sucked rocks_," she declared. "You crabby, old fly-catcher. You couldn't find a _dignified_ way to die, so you have to put everyone else through _this_."

"Well, _I_ couldn't blame him, if that's all you people _care_ about." Another Yurthak wearing blue and purple draped diagonally across her body, emerged from the ruins. She pointed an accusing finger first at the male in orange and red and then at female in pleats. "His estate. That's all you cared about. And how much trouble he's causing, just because he's _dying_." Her female voice grated, full of discord. Obi-Wan winced when he heard it.

"Oh, you have _no_ business sweeping me into your net, Orioni." Touski angrily got to her feet. She marched over to Orioni, who was shorter, and wider than Touski. "Backing out of meeting me at Coruscant to come here at the last minute. And I should never have trusted you to make decent reservations. That transport was _horrible_. It was a miracle that I met anyone nice at all coming here."

"The hostel worked out," Orioni responded defensively.

Just then, the female Yurthak in the white pleats made another grab for Qui-Gon, her hand sweeping the top of the wall. Qui-Gon was airborne before she even got close to him. He sailed high out of the Yurthak's reach and landed neatly next to Obi-Wan. The two Jedi automatically took a defensive posture, back to back. They were between Ebiki and Olumski, but they still didn't know which one of them was which. Orioni and Touski continued bickering.

"Yoloski?!" A huge Yurthak, with a bulging purple body, practically rolled into the Outpost, his legs were so short. "What have you done with my brother?!" he boomed.

"Pozoli, you haven't bothered to see him in ten years!" Orioni shouted back.

"He was _my_ brother!" The huge Yurthak's lips quivered as he sank to the ground by the body. Both Touski and Orioni shared disgusted looks at him. Obi-Wan looked away. Ebiki and Olumski were distracted by the group around Yoloski's body. He and Qui-Gon, together, began sliding to the left, hoping to escape the increasingly uncomfortable family gathering, but two more Yurthaks topped the short wall they were moving toward, blocking that passage.

"He got what he deserved." said one of them, a Yurthak wearing a brown and blue striped tube cloth around his body. He stepped from the wall onto a sturdy rock pile while his comrade, a smaller, yellowish Yurthak, bobbed his or her head in agreement. "He drove everyone away. Hated people. Even when he had all his circuits working. Threw all the kids into the deep pools. I'm amazed he never went to jail for getting anyone drowned. He did it to little Touski and then laughed about how loud she squealed when she couldn't get out. He just got worse when he got old."

"Did that to you, too." A gravelly, male voice said. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon whirled to see another Yurthak, its skin puckered at the eyes and mouth, approaching from another side. He was small, no taller than Qui-Gon, and green. Obi-Wan wondered if Yurthaks changed color and shrank when they got old. "Your Ma couldn't get you to the pools at that farm for years after that."

A clutch of Yurthak children ran out among their elders. Red, orange, blue, green, purple, yellow; they were half Obi-Wan's size. "Yoloski was a meanie! Yoloski was a meanie!" they chorused. Were Yurthak children different colors? Obi-Wan wondered. Were only the adults purple?

Backs pressed together, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon watched more and more Yurthaks emerge from among the ruins of the Outpost, each new wave getting smaller and smaller. They rolled among the plants, around the ruins. Red, blue, green. They ringed Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's bare patch of ground, getting closer and closer.

They were all talking. Yelling. Arguing.

"I saw it coming," a voice rumbled. "Tried to visit a few years ago, saw he was getting in a bad way, but Yoloski just had that little creature of his call the cops. Said I was trespassing! I wasn't going to break my fall for him after that."

"Who's going to get the farm?" someone whined.

"Not you," another voice replied. "You couldn't keep a pool wet even if you excessed a whole ocean into it yourself."

"I am NOT taking sides! I'm not inheriting _anything_ and I wouldn't take it, anyway, even if I were. Not if it meant spending one more day with all of you!" Touski's voice rose above the others. "But they are at least competent enough to handle this mess! And not dreaming up schemes for a _swamp park_."

"Then what are you still doing here?!" an unfamiliar voice demanded.

Qui-Gon's foot tripped on a round, orange Yurthak. It squealed and they both fell together, straight down onto their rumps, onto the multi-colored crowd. They sat at attention, through a chorus of "Hey, watch it!", "Get off!", "Who are you two?!", "Are you with Touski?!" They tried to be an inconspicuous as possible. They couldn't leave. Anything they did now would make things worse, especially for Touski.

Obi-Wan futilely grasped for his detachment. None of this concerned him. He was a Jedi. It wasn't _his_ family, but he was paralyzed with a desperate desire at least keep it from escalating. Most dismaying, was the sense that Qui-Gon, behind him, was lost to the conflict as well. The Force was contaminated with the small-minded squabbling all around them. Obi-Wan felt abandoned. He bitterly thought of every stupid, selfish thing that Qui-Gon had ever done as his Master.

Obi-Wan felt a pressure building in on him, behind his eyes. The air was thick with old grudges and back-biting, petty sniping and outright cruelty. Adults slapped each other. Parents squeezed their misbehaving children, who wailed of their innocence, while other adults only cringed but didn't try to stop it. Siblings cursed each other. Exaggeration, gossip, hidden motives, hypocrisy. Friendship turned to envy. Love became jealousy.

Back to back, they sat on a field of roiling bed balls. Red, green, blue, purple, white. And they were all talking, bickering at each other, an ocean of yammering noise, too busy and cluttered to make out any one voice, but they all had something very bad to say about Yoloski.

"Will you all SHUT UP!!!" Touski's voice cut though the din.

They shut up.

Obi-Wan stared out, over the view from the ancient Jedi Outpost on Tilthny Hill. Qui-Gon was still at his back, facing the other way. He felt a gentle breeze on his hair. His Padawan's braid had gotten under the collar of his undertunic; it tickled his neck. He heard only the faint sounds of wind and the murmur of insects amidst total silence.

Sitting on the bare ground, he inhaled deeply. His shoulders heaved with the effort. Delayed reaction from the vision set in. He brought his knees up and put his head down on them. He felt incredibly badly for Touski, if her family could be so cruel. Obi-Wan knew that he should strive for calm detachment, but a Jedi still used intuition and feelings to connect to the Force, and empathy for another being in distress was part of that. Qui-Gon had always been adamant that he heed those impulses as well.

The next moment brought a tinge of anger, separate from the vision itself. It began to flower into outrage; he had to ask about it. Now.

"Qui-Gon," he asked. "Did you influence me again?" He kept his voice steady, flat. There were limits to the liberties that a Master could take with training his apprentice.

"No."

The single syllable was weak and high with emotion.

Then after a moment of audible breathing, "That was entirely your effort." The tone was too low this time.

Obi-Wan stared out at the horizon. Gray and white clouds gathered there. Paralyzed, as if still lost in the vision, Obi-Wan sensed the broken control, the shame of that and horrible self pity. Qui-Gon was crying, quietly. Unutterable grief flowed from him, so intense, it had to be let out.

Obi-Wan turned around and embraced the larger man, his arms going around his broad shoulders from behind, his forehead lowered to the back of Qui-Gon's neck. As he had feared, the embrace only aggravated his Master's humiliation; he felt it, but Qui-Gon did not try to push him away.

Obi-Wan cleared his mind, letting all his emotions trickle away. It was easy. His earlier reaction to the vision had vanished like fog in the light of his Master's need. He didn't move or think. The Force was all around him; it was strong at the Outpost. He felt Qui-Gon reach for that calm; it washed away amidst his Master's grief. Qui-Gon's body trembled from the loss.

Obi-Wan stayed passive, his forehead still resting on the long hair covering the back of Qui-Gon's neck. He presented only calm against suffering, and gradually the sorrow lost its hold, its power spent. Qui-Gon's thoughts quieted; strength began to replace the sense of helplessness. Obi-Wan's calm grew into a shared perception between them. As in the deepest meditation, their hearts beat together.

Qui-Gon lifted his head and inhaled deeply.

"Thank-you," he said. Their shared experience separated into their individual selves. Obi-Wan released his hold, but left his hands on Qui-Gon's shoulders.

"You have done well, my Padawan." He turned his head to the side, but remained sitting. Obi-Wan dropped his hands, sat back and grimaced.

"It was a difficult lesson, my Master."

Qui-Gon nodded and turned to him. His dark blue eyes looked intently into his. "The most valuable lessons can be."

"Was this one valuable?" It felt like a complete jumble to Obi-Wan. None of the other visions that he had influenced on himself had really amounted to anything, no matter how he had mentally picked at them. Were all those heart-rending emotions pointless?

Qui-Gon opened his mouth to reply, but seemed to think better of his answer. "I cannot say," he admitted. "But it is what we got." They silently sat together on hard ground, scruffy plants and grasses grew in the cracks of the ancient, stone floor around them.

"I did not realize," Obi-Wan admitted, "that I would be so much a part of a vision that I influenced on you." Qui-Gon nodded.

"It is impossible to influence a vision on another person without becoming part of it, though a very learned and experienced Master can limit the effect. You would be at a severe disadvantage were you to study visions with Master Yoda," he said, naming the oldest member of the Jedi order.

Obi-Wan climbed to his feet. "Are you not learned then, Master?" He extended his hand to help Qui-Gon up.

"Not in visions." His voice was once again strong and sure as he stood. "I have always preferred the reality of the moment to the a focus I cannot control." After sitting on the ground for so long, they brushed off their robes and stretched.

"Why did you ask me what I had seen in the visions that you influenced, Qui-Gon, if you already knew what I had seen?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"I didn't know. Even shared visions are not the same for the individuals. They are, of course, similar, but sometimes the differences can be...extraordinary, and enlightening." He took a few steps, not going anywhere, just testing his legs.

"Then what did you see, Qui-Gon?"

Qui-Gon stopped, turned and looked at him, the memory of hurt and grief in his eyes. Obi-Wan calmly returned that haunted gaze. Qui-Gon dropped his eyes.

"That I have much to learn." he said to himself. Then he motioned for Obi-Wan to come with him. Obi-Wan's boots scraped on the ground as he hastened to follow. They walked together for a few paces before Qui-Gon began. He described the physical appearance of his part of the vision in as much detail as Obi-Wan had for his. Qui-Gon had been immediately plunged into darkness and was being chased by an enormous creature.

"I was actually a bit disappointed at first. It was so obviously frightening that...it wasn't. Until I realized that it was Yoloski who was chasing me." He looked up at the sky; it was blue and clear overhead. "Then I was afraid. And that..." he nodded. "...was terrifying."

"Yoloski? Or that you were frightened?"

"Both." Qui-Gon affirmed.

The other details, Touski, Yoloski's death, her cousins and the onslaught of relatives that devolved into a vast plane of angry, yammering bed balls were the same for both of them. They left the inner areas of the Outpost and slowly strolled around parts of the outer walls.

"I could hear all of those voices in my mind, through the Force and I couldn't shut them out. And it occurred to me that those voices could drive one mad, like Yoloski. I thought I might be old enough to be like him, bitter, thin and drooling, mind diseased. I could feel the changes in my body starting..." He paused, looking down at the rocky stubble of a wall they passed.

"And then, Touski shut them up." He smiled looking back up, toward the sky. "I was so grateful to be free of that uncontrollable terror, that I couldn't contain my gratitude either." He laid a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Your help was much appreciated."

Obi-Wan smiled back. "You taught me well, Master." Qui-Gon patted his shoulder and they walked on in silence for a bit.

"Was it difficult for you, when you influenced me?" Obi-Wan asked. Qui-Gon shook his head. The outer perimeter of the Outpost led to a steep drop and they turned away from it to walk up the hill. The plants were thicker and sometimes snagged at the hems of their robes.

"The first time," Qui-Gon said. "Was almost the same for both of us. Much easier for me than it was for you." He sighed. "It was so simple. That lulled me into thinking I could do it a second time with little harm. Then, I thought you were going to stab me; I would turn to ice and shatter. The tragedy would have been that you would have destroyed me and become part of a darkness that had led you into."

They reached a bare, flat area on the hill that overlooked the whole grounds of the Outpost. There was only a light breeze, but Obi-Wan shuddered.

"Did you think I could kill you?" he asked.

Qui-Gon shook his head, and then answered, "Yes.

"Anything can be in a vision, Obi-Wan. Your focus is your control, and you lose that when the focus becomes the reality of the vision." They gazed down at the ruins of the Jedi Outpost. "You can only control yourself," he reminded. "When you influence a vision, you give yourself to it.

"We shall study more of visions, when we return to the Temple."

Obi-Wan replied only with a look of surprise and some concern. Qui-Gon laid his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "But we shall first study them only in the Archives, I think, for awhile."

–**o(((O))) End Part 7 (((O)))o–**


	8. Chapter 8

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 8 (((O)))o–**

Obi-Wan piloted the rented speeder bike through the morning ground lanes of the city. It was early, with only light traffic. Sitting behind him, Qui-Gon watched the city blocks whiz by. They were heading for the hostel in an older, carefully preserved, historic part of the city, where none of the buildings were allowed to be greater than ten stories. Qui-Gon could see occasional glimpses of the parkland and Tilthny Hill in the distance.

After Obi-Wan's "success" with influencing a vision in him, neither one of them had been inclined to camp that night at the Outpost. They had spent the rest of the day there. The weather was pleasant and they had walked the grounds of the ruins discussing each other's visions. They had eaten lunch, made some guesses about what parts of the Outpost had been and Qui-Gon had recited some things that he knew about them. They had sparred with their lightsabers, but only for light exercise. They had spent the rest of the day doing anything but visions.

With the sun low in the sky and the shadows grown long on the ground, they had taken the speeder back into town and secured a simple room at one of the many convenience hostels that occupied the city blocks around the spaceport. They had meditated before retiring. Qui-Gon had admitted that he was heartily glad to not be sleeping in a bed bin that night. Grinning, Obi-Wan had agreed.

They had tried to contact Touski after they were settled in their new room, but they had only gotten recorded com messages, telling them when she would be up for breakfast. Her cousins had arrived.

Arriving at the hostel, they were directed to short term parking, since they were no longer guests. They strolled through the rough, defensive entryway pillars of the converted fort, into the main lobby. Touski waited for them. Behind her stood two other Yurthaks. Qui-Gon was not a bit surprised that Ebiki and Olumski were exactly as he'd seen in their vision, even their clothes were the same, red and orange drape and white pleats. Obi-Wan missed a step behind him. Qui-Gon smiled back at him. It was the factual accuracies and prophetic nature of visions, that distinguished them from random delusions and demanded a Jedi's attention. Qui-Gon would have preferred that it was otherwise; delusions could be discarded as fancy; visions contained the essence of a reality that dragged one into its own focus.

"Oh, I'm soooo glad to see you!" Touski happily scooped them up and pressed them to her cheeks. Qui-Gon patted her with his hands. Touski was always alive with the moment. Even contentious, selfish relatives couldn't squash that. He'd known that all along, but there was a deep difference between knowing it in the mind and sensing it in her through the Force.

She finally let them both down and they moved to a side room of the lobby that was large enough to accommodate three Yurthaks and two humans. Then Touski introduced her cousins. It turned out that Ebiki was the male in red and orange, and Olumski was the female wearing white pleats.

Her comrades stared at them. Ebiki and Olumski looked at each other. Then Olumski stepped forward, carefully nudging past Qui-Gon who stepped back from her enormous body.

"You didn't tell us they were Jedi," Olumski said in a whisper loud enough to be heard in the entire lobby. Touski groaned. Ebiki continued staring, turning his whole body from Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon and back. Touski acknowledged the obvious and then suggested that her cousins go on to the dining hall and order breakfast for them all. They agreed, and left.

"I never heard of anyone hugging a Jedi before, at least not keeping all their fingers afterwards..." Olumski's clumsy whisper to Ebiki came back to them from down the hall.

"Oh, they can be so embarrassing sometimes," Touski told them. "But it's actually a good thing that they came." Obi-Wan moved to stand next to Qui-Gon and Touski sadly gazed down at them with her big green eye. "Yoloski died yesterday. It was...unfortunate." She clasped her hands together. "We've been busy with all the arrangements. Yoloski wanted to be stuffed for a statue base and we have to stasis-freeze the body and have it shipped back to Yurthak for that backwards, old ritual. Why that mean, old fl–Yurthak, couldn't have his body be eaten and scattered by water scavengers like everyone else..." She sighed, her huge body sagging. "It's been an awful lot of work, as if we already don't have a dozen appointments with the accounts and lawyers and a land-use committee about the farm." She nodded her head.

"I am sorry to hear about your troubles," Qui-Gon said, extending his hand and she touched it with tip of a finger. He didn't give his condolences because he already knew that Touski wasn't very sorry that Yoloski was dead. "I hope your cousins can assist you, then."

Touski's expression soured. "Well, we haven't gotten along very well in the past, but we haven't had any problems yet. We've just been too busy. So far. They haven't sniped at me yet about the legal arrangements...yet. They're so...controlling. They have to be in charge of every little detail, but..." Touski lowered her voice. "They went straight to the probate offices and signed everything as soon as their feet hit the planet. I barely caught up with them. They were incredibly brusque about it, but...they beat Yoloski by less than an hour." Qui-Gon felt the nimble muscles of Touski's fingertip curve at the edges of his hand. "It's going to be so much simpler that we had a legal Custodian when he died."

"Then it is good that they came," he agreed. Touski lowered her finger.

"Until they start fighting over the inheritance," she said glumly. "It probably won't be bad until Yoloski gets stuffed, but after that it's going to be _awful_."

"Then perhaps you should leave them to it." Qui-Gon suggested. Touski drew back. "It appears that Ebiki and Olumski are capable. And you said that Yoloski's affairs were much simpler now."

"I...I couldn't really...just abandon them."

"Why not?" Obi-Wan stepped forward. "You said that they liked to control every little thing. Perhaps you should let them? After all, you aren't one of the heirs, anyway."

"Oh, oh." Touski fretted. "I shouldn't have said anything about the estate. That was so rude of me." For only a second, Obi-Wan grimaced.

Qui-Gon scowled, catching Obi-Wan's attention with a warning glare. He would speak to his apprentice later about being more conscious of facts, gained in a vision, and what could be shared with others. Touski didn't notice the interaction between them.

"What is your position in Yoloski's affairs?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Co-executor. The actual executor is Yoloski's brother back on Yurth. Not that he's capable of doing anything, but I had to get appointed to it to arrange custody for Yoloski. Pozoli agreed to it because I'm only a distant cousin. I was just supposed to check on Yoloski and set up the arrangements until they agreed on a custodian who would take over from me as co-executor, too. We didn't think we would need a full custodian so soon and Ebiki and Olumski were the only ones who could come right away. Pozoli was furious about it, and he made sure that their custodianship did not include any executor's powers. And now that Yoloski's dead, I'm here in the middle of the whole business."

"Can you still sign your authority over to either of your cousins?"

Touski gave Qui-Gon a blank-faced stare with her large green eye. She obviously hadn't thought about it.

"Pozoli _hates_ Ebiki and Olumski. If I sign it over to them, they're going to have _horrible_ fights with Pozoli."

Qui-Gon shrugged. "It sounds as if they were going to fight anyway. The only difference would be that you wouldn't be in the middle of it."

Touski put one hand to her mouth, stroking the velvety purple skin at the corner of her mouth.

"All I have to do is sign my position over to Ebiki, he's a little less abrasive than Olumski..." Her mouth rolled over the words speculatively. "Our first appointment this morning is with the court anyway..." She lowered her hand. "They'll be so surprised, they might cough up their breakfast.

"When are you going back to Coruscant?" she asked.

"Today," Qui-Gon answered, a little surprised by the change in subject. "Our trip has been successful. We came to say our good-byes."

"When does your transport leave?"

"Later this morning–"

"Good. I'll get my things together."

"I don't know if it has any accommodations for Yurthaks," Qui-Gon said uncertainly.

"I. Don't. Care." Touski told him, definitely.

She looked down at both of them with her big, green eye. "If I'm going to do this, I want to be gone and out of com range _immediately_. The transport will be in hyperspace for several hours and that should give me enough time to think of some good excuses why I can't take any coms from Yurthak. I suppose after awhile they'll be too busy fighting among themselves to come after me."

Touski laid her hands on their shoulders, at least part of one finger touched their shoulders, the rest lightly touched the whole sides of their bodies.

"That's a very devious thing you suggested, Qui-Gon Jinn. I don't know how you ever thought of it. But I'm going to do it. And then I'm going to run off back to Coruscant with you two." She looked extremely pleased with herself. Qui-Gon glanced at his apprentice whose blue-gray eyes had a very mischievous gleam.

"Ooooooh!" Touski picked them up and hugged them again. "I am so glad I met you, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. You are so wonderful." Her voice choked with emotion. Qui-Gon sighed, sharing her happiness, and his own satisfaction in seeing his Padawan share it as well.

He finally had to remind her about breakfast and then getting ready to leave. Touski set them on the floor and after agreeing on a time and place to meet at the spaceport, she hurried off.

They stood in the lobby of the hostel. More guests were up and a few of them moved on after having stopped to watch Touski's Jedi-hugging.

"So," Obi-Wan began, "was it risky for us to act on our vision." He nodded toward the corridor that Touski had exited through.

Qui-Gon grimaced at the reminder of his earlier teaching. "Possibly. But as you have already observed, my young Padawan, I am not very good at taking my own advice about visions."

–**o(((O))) End Part 8 (((O)))o–**


	9. Chapter 9

**Bed Balls**

by ardavenport

–**o(((O))) Part 9 (((O)))o–**

The transport rumbled around them as it descended into Coruscant's atmosphere. The stacked luggage, boxes and crates rattled with the vibration of the low rumble all around the three passengers in the cargo hold.

Touski sighed loudly, obviously relieved that the trip was over. Obi-Wan, who sat next to her on a rigid, metal bench, looked up at the huge, purple Yurthak. Qui-Gon sat on his other side.

Their transport had not had any passenger areas large enough for Touski, so she had accepted space in the cargo hold, just as on her trip out from Coruscant. The crew of this ship had at least been more accommodating than the previous one. They had been given floor mats to sit on and assigned a serving droid to provide refreshment. Obi-Wan had looked the other way when the problem of the ship not having a fresher large enough for Touski was dealt with. The droid had handled that.

They had rested and conversed for the long hours of the trip. They had also exchanged contact information, though they had all acknowledged that they would likely not be meeting again. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan could be assigned to a mission off-world at any time and Touski would return to Yurth when her court work was finished.

The rumbling of the ship increased, low and growing in volume until it was interrupted by the solid thump of the landing gear below. Immediately, the engines throttled down and the noise decreased to a low hum and then even that faded to background noise.

Hatches clanged open. The rear, loading ramp cracked open and lowered to the landing platform. Their droid guided them toward it while crew members and lifters hurried to begin unloading. It was midday and the sky overhead was clear and blue outside. their landing platform was level with the horizon of building tops around it.

"Ooooohhhhh!!" Touski ran forward, warbling happily. Another Yurtak, wearing a fluttering blue dress, ran toward her across the landing platform. They both squealed when they impacted, their bodies squashing together, their long arms around each other's heads. It was a gigantic hug.

Both grinning, the two Jedi shouldered their traveling packs and followed. The two Yurthaks had separated by the time they reached them.

"What did you DO, Touski??" the other asked in a high, feminine voice. She was a similar shade of purple, but slightly smaller than their traveling companion. "Your cousins have simply gone into orbit. They're on the com for you all the time. They won't say what it's about, but you can just tell they are VERY unhappy about something."

Touski told her about signing over her co-executor position to Ebiki. The other Yurthak stared back, her mouth agage.

"They are just going to DISOWN you, Touski!" she finally exclaimed.

"Well, don't you think that would be a good thing?" Touski asked. "You've seen what that end of my family is like, all snippy and know-it-all and puffed up about themselves while stepping on everyone one else while they're doing it."

Touski's companion put her hand to her mouth. "Well, I suppose you've got a point there. That Pozoli was especially unpleasant. But I told him that you were sequestered with the court and you simply could not receive any outside communications. That should hold them off, as long as they don't call the court directly to ask for you."

"Oh, believe me, none of them are smart enough to think of that, except maybe Ebiki and Olumski, and they're both much too busy now." Touski turned to them. "And these are my friends, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is Umittee, one of the lawyers working on our case and a very good friend of mine." Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon bowed to her.

Umittee's large blue eye widened; she clearly recognized them as Jedi. "Well, Touski, I had no idea you had such distinguished companions on your trip." She nodded her head toward them, in return.

"Oh, it was merely a fortunate accident that we met at all on the way there..." Touski told Umittee the whole story of their stay together while they went through the process of finding and grav-lifting Touski's luggage to the parking side of the landing platform. She proudly credited Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan for the idea of signing over her executor duties.

Touski's friend had brought an enormous barge of a transport, large enough for all of them. Touski insisted on dropping them off at the Jedi Temple.

"Isn't that space restricted?" Umittee asked. "I don't think I'd be allowed to land anywhere close to it."

Qui-Gon assured her that his com signal would allow them access. They loaded the luggage and climbed in, Qui-Gon in front with Umittee, Obi-Wan in back with Touski. Umittee guided the transport up into the air traffic lanes, over the vast city-plane that was Coruscant. It was a short trip. The court district, where Touski and Umittee were staying, was not very far from the Senate district and the Jedi Temple. The two Yurthaks discussed other ways of keeping Touski out of reach of her angry cousins and which members of the family it would be safe to confide in. Obi-Wan was happy to hear that Touski's closer relatives were much nicer that Yoloski and his part of the family.

When they got close to their destination, Qui-Gon took out his comlink and activated the access signal for the Temple. It linked to Umitee's navigation controls and immediately a green list of Temple approaches appeared on the screen next to her.

"Oooh." Umittee sounded impressed. Qui-Gon pointed to one option and as they came up to the Temple, their transport dropped down from the traffic lanes. The transport spiraled wide around the gray pyramid, going lower and lower, the Temple towering higher and higher above them.

To Obi-Wan's dismay, Qui-Gon told Umitee to park next to the Temple's formal entrance. It wasn't forbidden to disembark there, but it wasn't appreciated either. The lawyer looked a bit uncertain about Qui-Gon's directions; she asked more than once if they were allowed to park there. Qui-Gon smoothly replied that they were, if they were just stopping to get off. Obi-Wan said nothing, but he expected that some people would complain later. There were always reminders and warnings about traffic and parking in the Temple announcements.

The air transport turned left, around one of the massive statues overlooking the processional way and settled on the rise next to it. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Touski climbed out. Umittee, still looking nervous about being somewhere where she shouldn't be, said that she would stay with the transport, but she told both Jedi that she was very happy to meet them.

"This is very nice." Touski looked about, down at the processional way, over to the entrance, and up at the massive slant of Temple's gray, outer walls. Qui-Gon looked very satisfied with her reaction. "Oh, you have lots of room here." She nodded, looking down at Qui-Gon. Then Touski's expression turned sad. She reached out and picked them both up for one, last, purple hug.

Obi-Wan tensed.

He couldn't help it. They were at the Temple now, and people, Jedi, were looking at them. There weren't many, but they had stopped to stare up at them from the processional way and from under the shadows of the great columns of the entrance itself. On the other side of Touski's hug, his Master unreservedly returned it. Hoping that Touski hadn't noticed, he leaned forward as well. She sighed, a high, happy sound and put them down on the ground again.

"It has been my great pleasure to know you, Qui-Gon Jinn."

"As it has been for me to know you," Qui-Gon bowed to her. Touski raised one large finger to him and Qui-Gon laid his hand on it. After only a moment's hesitation, Obi-Wan put his hand on the warm, velvety fingertip as well.

"And you, too, Obi-Wan Kenobi," Touski added, playfully. A finger of her other hand brushed his hair, the muscles on the end of it rippled over his head.

She lowered her hands and went back to the transport. Umittee piloted it up and away, but Touski waved as it departed. They both waved back. When the huge vehicle had disappeared into the traffic lanes above, Qui-Gon looked down at him.

"You did very well on this trip, Obi-Wan, " he said smiling. They picked up their packs, turned and began walking toward the edge of the rise over the processional way.

"Thank-you, Master. I learned...many things," he answered. High above the wide walkway below, Obi-Wan followed his Master down over the side, both of them using the Force to control their fall and landing. They began to stroll toward the entrance, and the enormous sculptures of the great Jedi Masters above it.

A few people were still staring at them. Some with disapproval.

*Looking up at his Master, the blue sky behind him, Obi-Wan felt the subtlety of his Master's awareness of it, and the older man's complete lack of concern about it. Obi-Wan tucked his arms into the sleeves of his robe and looked ahead.

He followed his Master inside.

–**o(((O))) END (((O)))o–**

(This story was first posted on tf.n: 03-June-2006)

**Disclaimer:** All characters and situations belong to George and Lucasfilm; I'm just playing in their sandbox.


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